Three Dimensions to Classify People's Sexual Orientation

Homosexuality is a sexual behavior with sexual attraction to, or sexual preference for, a

person of the same gender. The different types of homosexuality are bisexual, heterosexual, and

ambisexual. Bisexual is between someone and partners of both gender. Heterosexual is between

someone and partners of opposite gender. Ambisexual is simply liking sex with the partner(s);

gender being irrelevant. One author wrote, “The tendency to define a person as homosexual,

regardless of the amount of heterosexual experience that person has, is an attempt by people

to divide the world into two groups – one’s own group, which is pure, and another group,

which viewed negatively, inferior, and to keep one’s own group pure (Elliot 42). Some recent

studies use three dimensions of behavior, identity, or desire in order to classify people’s sexual

orientation. Science is dismantling the notation that homosexuality is either a lifestyle choice or a

mental illness.

Opponents of homosexuality usually reject any biological explanation, saying

homosexuality is a learned behavior and, regardless of why it was learned, is a freely chosen

behavior that can and should be changed by therapy. Psychological explanations say that sexual

development is influenced by circumstances in one’s life such as confused gender roles, fear of

heterosexuality or positive or negative reinforcement of early sexual behavior (Cavendish 202).

Until the 1970 Gay Liberation Movement, homosexuality was a taboo topic in American society

(Templin 84). There had been a flourishing underground gay culture during the 1920s, but by the

1930s homosexuals were regarded as perverts and treated with hostility. Anti-homosexual

attitudes intensified during the ...

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...ls found his

body in a river over a bridge, he was thrown over the bridge.

Nicole Nors

English F

January 10, 2014

Charlie Howard lost his life because he stood up for himself and did not let anyone tell

him who to be and how he should run his life. No matter what he did, his problems always

followed him.

Works Cited

Carnes, Jim, Harry A. Blackmun, and Herbert Tauss. Us and Them: A History of Intolerance in

America. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

"Discrimination against Homosexuals Varies across Cultures." NewsBank. Nathan Elliot, n.d.

Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

"Are Homosexuals Treated Fairly in School?" Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

Templin, Floyd F. An American in the 20th Century. [Place of Publication Not Identified]: Floyd

E. Templin, 1998. Print.

Roth, John K. Encyclopedia of Social Issues. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1997. Print.